• The Law Commission published its consultation on reforming the law relating to wills and inheritance yesterday, in an attempt to modernise the law in the area and account for advances in technology, changes to society and the legal test for testamentary capacity.

    The proposals include:

    1. The introduction of ‘electronic wills’
    2. Giving the court the power to validate wills in certain circumstances where the formalities about execution, presently set out in the Wills Act 1837 (as amended), have not been complied with.
    3. Changes to the law of undue influence on those making wills, and what is required to prove it
    4. Changes to the legal test establishing whether a testator has mental capacity to make a will; and
    5. Lowering the age at which one can make a will from 18 to 16 years.

    The consultation is scheduled to close in November 2017.
    Read the full report on the Law Commission website.
    Respond to the consultation.

    For more information please contact Deborah Cain via email or on 01622 655297. Deborah is a Partner in Brachers Contested Trusts & Probate Team. She is a longstanding member of the Association of Contentious Trust & Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) and is a Legal 500 Recommended Lawyer in the field of Contested Trust & Probate.

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